Paying the price

March 30th, 2009

This isn’t the first time I have used this column to talk about knife crime.

Progress has been made but we still have a long way to go.

So after the knife summit in the town hall, organised by the Greenock Telegraph of course, there really is only one subject to talk about this week.

For me, it was great to hear the views of ordinary people, rather than the so-called experts.

After all, these are the people who have to live side-by-side with offenders, whose children are often most at risk from knives and whose communities have been impacted by the cycle of violence.

And they re-enforced my view that if you are caught with a knife, you should face the full force of the law.

A lot of options have been mooted in the many discussions I have had on how to deal with knife criminals and other violence.

Of course we should support the parents, because if the problem starts there then that’s where we can make a difference.

Dealing with alcohol-related violence is another area of focus because it has such a significant effect on our communities.

I am all for using legislation and policing to limit access to knives, which has also has been suggested.

And I agree that education should be at the heart of what we do, so we can discourage those young people who are drawn to the fringes of criminal behaviour. Medics Against Violence going into our schools is a good example of this.

But these solutions can only go so far and we have a duty to protect our neighbourhoods.

Locking up those who present a danger to society has to form part of that range of solutions.

Yes, prison is expensive but many people would argue that is a price worth paying.